For diagnostic purposes the urine of both males and females must be collected for analysis. For a male this is a simple matter since he merely urinates through his penis directly into the collector. Urinating directly into a container is often the only procedure available to females but because the convenience of a penis is not available to a woman, the best she can do is to place the opening of the collector approximately in line with the outlet of her urethra. Because a woman's stream is not well confined, almost invariably the stream hits her fingers which is, of course, unpleasant. Furthermore, because the urethra of a woman is bracketed by the major and minor labia, as the stream flows from the urethra to a place of deposit such as a urine collector or a commode, the stream flows over the labia and entrains bacteria and the like found on the labia but not present in the stream as it flows from the urethra. During analysis, this foreign culture, found normally only on the labia, can give misleading readings as to the actual nature of the urine.
An object of the present invention is to provide a urine specimen collector for use by females which neatly collects a specimen with no danger of the stream striking the hand or fingers of the user. The urine specimen collector of the present invention is also useful for taking a urine specimen from a very ill female, who can't move from her bed or from an emergency room stretcher. By using the device of the present invention, a urine specimen can be taken without creating an inconvenience for the patient.
Another object of the invention is to provide a urine collector which, after location beneath the urethra, is manipulatable to open the wide end of a funnel-like bag into a substantial elliptical shape, having a width to ensure that the stream flows wholly into the open end of the funnel-like bag, and at the same time the labia are pushed apart so as to be entirely free of the urine stream issuing from the urethra.